Reuse in Command-and-Control Systems

Rockwell International´s Command-and-Control Systems Division, assisted by the Software Productivity Consortium, initiated a pilot project to evaluate the applicability of SPC´s Synthesis methodology. Synthesis is an approach based on domain-specific reuse, by which an organization can standardize its perceptions of customers´ needs and effective solutions. We present CCSD´s experience to date using Synthesis. Our application of Synthesis has resulted in a partially automated environment that supports the specification of a communications-control and -management system and the generation of corresponding software requirements, design, and code. A domain-specific notation, created by the project, lets an engineer describe one of these systems in terms of high-level requirements and engineering decisions. The engineer can then generate a product by mechanically selecting, adapting, and composing the relevant reusable components based on those decisions. We have used this environment to create parts of two products, and we are now using it on a CCSD project.<>